What can the council do about your messy neighbour?

18/04/2013 , 2:20 PM by Selina Green

You may have seen in the news this week that a suburban council in Adelaide is planning to slap residents with a $1000 fine if they fail to clean up their junk-filled properties. The West Torrens Council will ask the State Government to draft a bylaw allowing councils to fine owners of unsightly properties.

The idea is to give councils the power to clean up properties and issue fines, rather than waste years and money pursuing them through the courts. It got us thinking - what, if any, powers do our local councils have to make people clean up their yards.

Daryl Sexton is the operational services director with the Mount Gambier City Council and as he explains to Stan Thomson, their powers are limited.......